Adams runs show for soaring Sussex

The 33-year-old former England batsman - he won five caps against South Africa and Zimbabwe three winters ago - is in his benefit season, the demands of which can often wreck a player's form.

Despite Sussex's excellent early season run, inspired by their mercurial leg spinner, Mushtaq Ahmed, Adams reached the end of July with just 162 runs to his name from 11 innings at an average of under 15. But the captain came good, big time, in August, hitting three important centuries - 107 in the draw against Surrey followed by 140 and 190 in the victory over Lancashire.

His return of 460 runs from five knocks, averaging 92, combined with his leadership have earned Adams the Evening Standard Cricketer of the Month award for August. He receives a bronze statuette plus a magnum of Veuve Cliquot champagne.

"This is a great honour for me and the club" said Adams, who becomes the second Sussex player in three months to win the award.

Mushtaq was our June winner and is now just 11 victims away from becoming the first bowler since 1996 to take 100 wickets in a season.

"Mushtaq's been magnificent all season," said Adams. "He's been the Xfactor, the catalyst for our success. That's why we've taken maximum bowling bonus points. Apart from Mushtaq, everyone has done their bit for the team at different times and it was my turn in August. I haven't been at my best with the bat for some time but I put in a hell of a lot of hard work in the nets and kept my belief that the touch would come back.

"The turning point was late in July against Notts at Trent Bridge. I only scored 46 but it was the first time I had played fluently for ages. It was a great feeling and I carried it on against Surrey. That was a big game and my century was an important one."

Adams followed that with two centuries in the excellent victory over Lancashire and recalls: "It was nice to get all three centuries at Hove in front of the members as a reward for their patience. All three were special but the 190 in the second innings against Lancashire was just about as good as it gets on a pitch where class players like Stuart Law and Carl Hooper struggled to make runs."

Then there was his first-ball duck as Sussex went on and made 612 in their innings victory over Essex at Colchester. "I got an inswinging yorker at about 90mph. There's not a lot you can do about them," he smiled. "But at least I can say I did my bit by winning the toss."

Adams took some flak for failing to offer Surrey a serious target in their recent draw, but he is unrepentant.

"We outgunned Surrey for two and a half days and played the better cricket, but in the end I had no choice but to settle for the draw.

"I wasn't too impressed at the way Surrey handled themselves in that game. They just seemed to expect us to open it up for them. Other captains have buckled under the pressure Surrey put you under and let themselves be steam-rollered but there was no way I would let that happen.

"With the depth and quality of their squad, I had expected Surrey to be well clear at this stage of the season. Who knows, they may still win it, because they've got the experience."

Sussex's director of cricket, Peter Moores, said: "Chris deserves a lot of credit for the way he has led the side. He has had to dig deep sometimes but he's a big-match player and produces the goods when they are needed."

Adams, who lives in west Sussex with his wife, Samantha, and daughters Georgia and Sophie, has a football background. His father, John, was commercial manager at Rotherham and then managing director at Southend United. But Adams junior is a passionate supporter of Arsenal, who had a pretty successful captain of their own by the name of Adams.